<p>I would think long and hard about why Harvard is your first choice? Why do you HAVE to go there? By applying SCEA to Harvard you may be foregoing a great opportunity to waltz in to another school ED which otherwise could be a challenging RD admit. </p>
<p>Ask yourself what would be your greater long term regret; applying early to Harvard, being rejected, then knowing you missed out on the early admission advantage at Cal Tech or another great lower tier school like,say, Harvey Mudd, Williams, UPenn etc… OR getting an early admit to Cal Tech, knowing you didn’t take your best shot at Harvard. </p>
<p>Do you have at least two or three target schools you would be thrilled to attend if you loose out on your top choice? If not, start looking. Reach schools are easy to find. The real challenge is finding great targets. </p>
<p>Edited to say there is no right or wrong answer. Applying early to Harvard could be the right way to go for you, but do it thoughtfully.</p>